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What are these essays about? They talk about war and peace in the 1990s, about suffering and hope, faith in God and fear of the world, about the climate crisis and our fears that humanity will be destroyed by nuclear weapons. There are also two essays on Muslim clothing, and others about the reasons why I discuss these challenging topics. There are essays about the inevitability of death and that humankind has not managed to achieve eternity, even through cloning.
As the reader will see, the earlier essays are dedicated to the Qur’an, and one of them is a more general essay about this holy book. It can be read regardless of the personal geography of the reader, whether they are in Sarajevo, Isfahan, Munich or Casablanca. One essay talks about Qur’anic manuscripts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in view of their aesthetics, a topic relevant to the Qur’an ever since it was revealed.
Some essays speak about piety. This piety is not a clearly defined set of rules on how to submit to God – rather, the essays speak about devotion as a search for space which we recognize as a safe haven in the terrifying world of today. This piety seeks to find safe haven for conversing with God, if He wills that!
Even those readers who skim the book will see that the author aims to ask God for something which for Him is tiny and insignificant, but for the author is truly important: that God remain our hope and consolation, our joy and peace.
These are some of the essay topics. They do not all have to be read, but the author will be thrilled if at least some of them find satisfied readers.
In this wide-ranging collection of multi-genre essays, Enes Karić reminds us of an essential truth – that Islam is integral to Europe’s heritage and that Bosnia, the crossroads of the world where empires and faiths met and intermingled for centuries, is the living testament to that erased truth. Spanning literature, history, religion, high and folk culture, politics and autobiography, this enchanting and enriching collection is a must-read for anyone serious about the central place of Islam in Europe’s past and future.
Yahya Birt, Research Director, Ayaan Institute, London
Enes Karić is the most prolific contemporary Bosnian Muslim author, offering unmatched insight into the key themes that concern Bosnian Muslims and the predominant approaches they adopt in addressing them.
Ahmet Alibašić, Professor of Islamic Civilisation, University of Sarajevo
